Employment Law

Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff & Brandt’s labor and employment practice emphasizes two primary goals: preventative employment services and representation of clients in litigation and before governmental agencies. The preventative side of the practice assists employers to ensure they are in compliance with federal and state statutes and regulations and helps employers to develop and implement policies designed to avoid lawsuits in the first instance and to make litigation winnable when it does occur.

Services provided by the firm’s employment lawyers include:

• Defending employers in charges brought with the EEOC, Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, National Labor Relations Board, and other governmental agencies.
• Defending employers in courts in all aspects of employment litigation, including claims under Title VII, ADA, FMLA, FLSA, ADEA, ERISA, COBRA, and retaliatory discharge actions as well as any other state- law claims.
• Reviewing, drafting, and formulating customized employee handbooks/policies that are consistent with prudent employee management practices and in compliance with state and federal law, including the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Race and Sex Discrimination), ERISA, COBRA, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and Executive Order 11246 Administered by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).
• Arbitration agreements.
• Developing effective employment pre-screening forms and work-related accident investigation forms for use with post-accident drug/alcohol testing and safety violation investigations.
• Preparing and implementing customized drug-free workplace policies and forms.
• Counseling and advising employers who are considering terminations, layoffs, or other adverse employment actions so as to minimize the risk of a discrimination or retaliatory discharge lawsuit.
• Preparing and implementing comprehensive harassment prevention and investigation programs for employers, and advising employers on internal investigations of sexual harassment charges, employee theft issues, and other such sensitive investigations.
• Preparing and enforcing all types of contracts between employers and employees, including noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements and agreements involving protection of trade secrets or other confidential business information.